Tote box

ABSTRACT

One or a series of different size tote boxes may be extended in height by securely fastening a ring on top of it or them, which ring is preferably snapped to the top of the box by opposing hook-shaped tabs or interlocking elements. The ring is of a height to effectively change the height of the box, and if a series of different height boxes are involved, the height of the ring is such as to change a lower height box into a higher box of a size not to be found in the series. By effectively constructing the top of the ring in a manner similar to the top of the box, with respect to interlocking, rings may be stacked one upon another to increase the height of the boxes. Interior partitioning, particularly for circuit boards, is such that spacing between boards may be readily changed in a secure manner. Slotted circuit board holders have edges for insertion in opposed vertical slots, which edges are offset with respect to the plane of symmetry of such holders so that the holder may be removed, rotated 180° about a vertical axis and reinserted to provide for a change in spacing less than the spacing between slots in which the board holder is inserted.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Synthetic resin molded tote boxes have many well known uses, andaccording to such usage, they come in various sizes. For each differentsize, molds or tooling are needed, additional inventory is needed, andgenerally multiple sizes increase the cost of the product to thecustomer who buys and uses such boxes.

Many such boxes come with partitions, including some partitioned toreceive circuit boards for handling within the factory or for shipping.Since circuit boards come in many different sizes, shapes andrequirements for packaging, it is necessary to change sizes of the boxesas mentioned above and/or change the size and spacing of the partitionswithin such box. In the packaging of circuit boards, they should bepackaged as close as practical, to conserve shipping space, but with thechange in board dimensions that have been rapidly and frequently in theelectronics industry, such partitioned boxes must be used for circuitboards for which they were not designed, which results in inefficientshipping due to the limitations of the partitioning, there are largespaces between circuit boards that are unnecessary from a packagingpoint of view and wasteful of space.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to construct an otherwiseconventional synthetic resin molded tote box, or a series of differentsize boxes, with an extension ring for extending the height of such boxor boxes without requiring the production and inventory of a differentsize box or different size boxes.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide for tote boxpartitioning, particularly for circuit boards, so that the flexibilityof accommodating different size circuit boards may be increased foroverall packaging efficiency.

In general, it is an object to make tote boxes more versatile in theiraccommodation of different sized articles to be held in them, in a moreeconomic manner than has been the practice to date.

One or a series of different size tote boxes may be extended in heightby securely fastening a ring on top of it or them, which ring ispreferably snapped to the top of the box by opposing hook-shaped tabs orinterlocking elements. The ring is of a height to effectively change theheight of the box, and if a series of different height boxes areinvolved, the height of the ring is such as to change a lower height boxinto a higher box of a size not to be found in the series. Byeffectively constructing the top of the ring in a manner similar to thetop of the box, with respect to interlocking, rings may be stacked oneupon another to increase the height of the boxes. The interconnection ofthe rings or ring in box is such as to be secure, but also temporary sothat the ring may be removed and reused.

Interior partitioning, particularly for circuit boards, is such thatspacing between boards may be readily changed in a secure manner. Aparticular feature is such that slotted circuit board holders have edgesfor insertion in opposed vertical slots, which edges are offset withrespect to the plane of symmetry of such holders so that the holder maybe removed, rotated 180° about a vertical axis and reinserted to providefor a change in spacing less than the spacing between slots in which theboard holder is inserted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more clear from the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment of the present invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of one quarter of a box base constructedaccording to the present invention, with the remainder of therectangular box being correspondingly constructed;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the box portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the box portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of one quarter of an extension ringconstructed according to the present invention, with the rectangularring having remaining portions similarly constructed;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the ring of FIG. 4, showing theoutside of the ring to the right, the inside of the ring to the left,with respect to the sides, and a cross section of the ring end as shownto the far left, all as would be seen with respect to the break lineV--V;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional elevational view taken only through the sideof the ring along a corresponding portion of line V--V in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional elevation view similar to FIG. 6, but takenthrough an interlocking element 21a, in a plane parallel to that of FIG.6;

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view through the top of the base boxtaken along line VIII--VIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of one half of a partition plate, the otherhalf being correspondingly identical;

FIG. 10 is a partial elevational view of the partition plate of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an elevation view of the partition plate of FIG. 9, takenfrom the opposite side of that of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XII--XII in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of one half of a circuit boardholder, with the other half being substantially identical;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XIV--XIV in FIG. 13;and

FIG. 15 is a top plan view of a portion of the board holder taken fromline XV--XV in FIG. 14.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The base box of FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 8 may be extended in size verticallywith the ring extension of FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7. Either the base box, oras extended, may be partitioned with two partition plates, one of whichis shown in FIGS. 9, 10, 11 and 12, and a suitable plurality of boardholders shown in FIGS. 13-15. All of these components are preferablyconstructed of synthetic resin material, such as any of the well knowninjection molding compositions. For use with circuit boards, thesecomponents are preferably constructed of a resin that is electricallyconducted, as is conventional.

The base box is entirely in one piece, being molded. The base boxincludes a planar bottom 1, opposed ends 2, opposed sides 3, and a topedge structure 4. The sides and ends are generally vertical, preferablysloping upwardly and outwardly from the bottom. The sides and ends arerespectively connected at their side edges to each other and at theirlower edges. Slanting corners 5 are provided for such connectionsbetween adjacent sides and ends. The end wall, as shown in FIG. 3, isprovided with a plain planar portion 6, which may be roughened toreceive writing, or may have attached to it some label, or the like, toprovide desired information. Outer web portions 7 of the ends are in thesame plane as the portion 6, and for the side walls or sides, the outerwebs 7 are in an outer plane. Inner webs 8 are coplanar with each otherfor each of the sides and ends, which planes are parallel to theadjacent planes of the outer webs 7. Connecting webs 9 interconnectadjacent inner and outer webs, to thereby form inwardly opening slots 11for both the sides and ends. For the planar portions of the sides andends, at 6, the slots 11 are formed by parallel inward extending ribs12.

The top edge structure 4 is formed by a horizontal flange 13interconnecting the top edges of the webs 7, 8, 9. The outer edge of thehorizontal flange 13 is connected to the lower edge of vertical flange14, which in turn is connected at its upper edge with a top horizontalflange pointed to more specifically by the lead line to the numeral 4that indicates the top edge structure in general. The outermost edge ofthis flange is in turn connected, for portions of the periphery, to adownwardly dependent skirt flange 15. At other portions of theperiphery, there is a horizontal corner flange 16 coextensive with anend flange 23, which flanges are interconnected by reinforcing ribs 17.In the top horizontal flange, there are a plurality of recesses 18having therein indicia aligned with corresponding slots 11, for purposesof identification.

Interlocking elements are respectively provided on the base box andextension ring for interconnecting the same. With respect to the basebox, the interlocking elements are indicated with respect to portions19-22, which will be described in more detail, particularly with respectto their function associated with the now to be described ring.

As seen from FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7, the extension ring is likewiseconstructed of integrally molded elements. The ring has opposed sidewalls 3A and end walls 2A, but no bottom. With respect to elements thatcorrespond to those of the base box, the same numerals are employed forthe ring, but with the addition of "A". Therefore, a description oftheir structure and function will not be repeated with respect to thering since the above description is equally applicable. In general, theconnections between the side edges and end edges and their shape aresuch that the ring is rectangular and may be placed in alignment on thetop of the base box so that the ring side walls and ring end walls willform substantially coplanar extensions of the corresponding base boxsides and ends. The interlocking elements on the lower edge of the ringand the upper edge of the box base will interconnect the ring and basebox securely sufficiently for their intended purpose, but temporary inthe sense that the ring may be removed and used on another box. The ringhas a horizontal flange 24 somewhat similar to the flange 23 and flange16 of the base box. For the base box, the interlocking elements comprisean aperture 20 in the skirt flange having a downwardly facing lockingedge 21 for the side walls and .[.merely.]. .Iadd.similarly .Iaddend.thedownwardly facing edge of the top horizontal flange for the end walls,which structure is interchangeable as between the sides and ends. Alsoseparate interlocking elements are formed on the base box by apertures19 that are in the horizontal flange 13 as well as the upper horizontalflange and the vertical flange 14. More preferably, the vertical flange14 is not merely cut away, but rather recessed at this position toprovide a downwardly facing flange at 22 as shown in FIG. 8. This samestructure is to be found along the top edge of the ring as shown in FIG.4, so that another ring could actually be attached to the top of thefirst ring.

The interlocking elements for the ring will now be described. A pair ofhooks 26, 31 downwardly extend from the lower perimeter of the ring at aplurality of locations on the side walls and end walls, tocorrespondingly vertically align with the interlocking elements of thebase box. That is, pairs of hooks will be spaced apart from each otherin a direction perpendicular to their wall, as shown in FIG. 7 adistance sufficient to receive therebetween the interlocking elements ofthe base box. The interlocking element 6 comprises a cantileveredresilient downwardly depending flange 28 terminating in a return hookportion 27 at its terminal lower end. The apertures, recesses or slots19, 20 of the base box are spaced apart a distance less than thedistance between the hook portions 31, 27 and therefore the hookportions are provided with wedging or camming surfaces as mostspecifically shown in FIG. 7 to engage the side walls of the slots asthe hook portions move through the slots to resiliently bend thecantilevered flanges to force the hook portions into the slots to passthrough the slots, so that after passing through the slots the hookportions will snap back behind the slot walls and engage beneath theedges 21, 22 to securely hold the ring on the base box.

For molding convenience and to minimize weakening of the ring bottomperiphery and the top periphery of both the ring and the base box, theinside interlocking elements 19, 26 are peripherally offset from thepaired outside interlocking elements 20, 31, in a horizontal directionwithin the plane of the respective wall sufficiently so that the slotsof each opposed pair do not overlap each other, as more particularlyshown in FIGS. 1 and 4.

Since the ring has interlocking elements substantially identical to theinterlocking elements of the base box, in vertical alignment with thecorresponding interlocking elements of the base box, a second like ringmay be placed upon and securely fastened to the upper periphery of thefirst mentioned ring to further extend the base box. As an example of abox system, three boxes may be molded in sizes differing only in height,with a difference between boxes being five inches. If for example, thebottom box is five inches high, the next boxes will be ten and fifteeninches high. With an effective height of the ring being three inches,these box sizes may be expanded to eight, thirteen and eighteen inchesrespectively, which boxes may be further expanded by the use of a secondring to eleven, sixteen and twenty-one inches respectively. Othercombinations and sizes are contemplated, and further other size ringscould be employed, that is multiple size rings would further change theinventory of box sizes in an efficient manner.

When the ring is assembled onto the base box, the slots 11 will extendfor the full height above the box and ring, in vertical alignment,throughout the periphery of the interior of the box and ring.

Partition plates 40 as shown in FIGS. 9-12 have opposite verticallyextending edges 41, which edges may be engaged respectively in the slots11 of the base box that are closest to the corners 10. The dividerplates further have corner portions 42 that will extend along andparallel to the corner portions 10 of the base box, which lead to aplanar base portion 43 that would extend parallel to and closelyadjacent the sides of the box, with a pair of such partition platesbeing provided along opposite sides of the box and identical to eachother. A plurality of reinforcing ribs 44 are preferably provided in agrid pattern for reinforcing the base 43, and most preferably aninterlocking rib 46 is provided to engage within one of the slots 11 ofthe side of the base box. On the side of the base 43 opposite from theribs 44, 46, there are provided a plurality of vertically extendingparallel ribs 45 evenly spaced throughout the extent of the base 43, toprovide therebetween vertically extending slots for receiving the edgesof circuit board holders or like objects. Closing off the lower end orupper end, but not both, of all of the slots between the ribs 45, thereis a horizontal rib 47. This rib 47 may be used as a lower stop to keepthe now to be described board holders from engaging the bottom of thebox and/or prevent the board holders from readily being removed upwardlyout of the slots. Alternatively, they may be omitted. A plurality ofboard holders, in sufficient number, one being shown in FIGS. 14-15, maybe inserted parallel to each other and perpendicular to the base 43 soas to extend between opposed slots of the partition plates. Morespecifically, the board holders 50 are provided with a planar base 51having substantially identical opposite sides comprising a plurality ofparallel ribs 52. The ribs 52 are evenly spaced from each otherthroughout the corresponding sides of the base 51 to presenttherebetween the corresponding plurality of equally sized and spacedoutwardly opening vertical slots for receiving therein the edges ofcircuit boards. The circuit boards are not shown, but are ofconventional design. The opposite vertical edges 53 of the board holdersare offset in a direction perpendicular to the base 51 from the centralplane of the base 51 by an amount AA, as shown in FIG. 15, so that ifthe board holder were inserted into opposed slots of the partitionplates, removed, rotated 180° about a vertical axis and reinserted inthe same slots, the effective position of the board holder slots wouldbe shifted perpendicular to the base 51 by a corresponding amount. Thisshifting amount is preferably less than the shifting amount that wouldbe produced by merely taking the board holder out of a pair of opposedslots and reinserting it in the next pair of opposed slots of thepartition plates. That is, the offset provides an additional adjustmentfor spacing between parallel board holders. In this manner, any numberof board holders may be inserted between the partition plates and havetheir spacing accurately and incrementally adjusted in small amounts toaccommodate circuit boards therebetween. Since generally the assembly ofsuch board holders, partition plates and circuit boards is known withina similar type of slotted box, it will not be further shown or describedin detail.

While a preferred embodiment has been described structurally andfunctionally in detail for the advantages thereof, other embodiments,modifications and variations are contemplated within the broad aspectsof the present invention, all is defined by the spirit and scope of thefollowing claims.

We claim:
 1. A modular box system, comprising:a base box constructed inone piece of molded synthetic resin, having a bottom, opposed sidessloping upwardly and outwardly from said bottom, opposed ends slopingupwardly and outwardly from said bottom, and said ends respectivelyconnected at side edges to corresponding side edges of said sides toform an open top box .[.that may be nested within like open toppedboxes.].; a molded synthetic resin ring, separate from said base box,having opposed side walls and opposed end walls connected at their sideedges to corresponding side edges of said side walls to be of a size andshape so that when placed in alignment on top of said base box, the ringside walls and end walls will form substantially coplanar extensions ofthe corresponding base box sides and ends; interlocking elementsrespectively on the lower edge of said ring and the upper edge of saidbase box for interconnecting said ring and base box securely; and saidinterlocking elements on one of said base box and ring, comprisingopposed pairs of hooks spaced apart from each other in a directionperpendicular to their wall a distance sufficient to receivetherebetween the interlocking elements of the other of said base box andring.
 2. A modular box according to claim 1, wherein said hooks have acantilevered resilient flange extending toward the other of said basebox and ring with a return hook portion on its terminal end.
 3. Amodular box according to claim 2, wherein the other of said base box andring having slots formed by slot walls, for receiving therethrough saidcantilevered resilient flanges, said slots being spaced apart a distanceless than the distance between said hook portions, and said hookportions having cam means to engage said slots as said hook portionsmove through said slots to resiliently bend said cantilevered flanges toforce said hook portions in alignment with said slots to pass throughsaid slots so that said hook portions may snap back behind said slotwalls.
 4. A modular box according to claim 3, wherein for each pair ofopposed hooks and pair of slots, said hooks and slots being offset fromeach other in a horizontal direction within the plane of the respectivewall sufficiently so that the slots of each opposed pair do not overlapeach other.
 5. A modular box according to claim 1, including said ringfurther having interlocking elements substantially identical to theinterlocking elements of said base box, in vertical alignment with thecorresponding interlocking elements of said box, so that a second likering may be placed upon and securely fastened to the upper periphery ofsaid first mentioned ring to further extend said base box.
 6. A modularbox according to claim 1, wherein said sides and ends of said base boxhave vertically extending substantially evenly spaced slots openinginwardly of the box, generally throughout the periphery of the interiorof said base box, for substantially the full height of said walls forreceiving therein partitions for partitioning the interior of said basebox; andsaid ring having vertically extending substantially evenlyspaced slots opening inwardly and generally throughout the periphery ofthe interior of said base box for substantially the full height of saidwalls for receiving therein partitions for partitioning the interior ofsaid base box and so that the slots of said base box are verticallyaligned with the slots of said ring when assembled.
 7. A modular boxaccording to claim 6, including two substantially identical partitionplates having opposite vertically extending edges for engaging inopposed slots of said base box, and having a plurality of verticallyextending slots parallel to each other and facing outwardlyperpendicular to the slots receiving therein said edges, with saidpartition slots being more closely spaced than the slots of said basebox, so that two partition plates placed parallel to each other withinsaid box base will have opposed aligned spaced apart slots.
 8. A modularbox according to claim 7, including a plurality of board holders beingof generally planar construction with opposed vertical edges forreception within opposed vertical slots of said partition plates andhaving a plurality of closely spaced vertically extending slots alongits entire extent between said edges on at least one side.
 9. A modularbox according to claim 8, wherein said board holders have closely spacedvertical slots extending along its opposite sides.
 10. A modular boxaccording to claim 9, wherein said opposed edges of said board holdersare horizontally offset in a direction perpendicular to the planarextent of said board holder an amount such that said board holder may bevertically removed, rotated about a vertical axis 180° and verticallyreassembled in the same vertical opposed slots of said partition platesto incrementally move the parallel slots of the board holder from itsprevious position a substantial amount that is less than the spacingbetween adjacent slots of said partition plates.
 11. A modular boxaccording to claim 10, wherein said substantial amount is equal to onehalf the spacing between adjacent slots in said partition .[.later.]..Iadd.plates.Iaddend..
 12. A modular box according to claim 11, whereinsaid synthetic resin is an electrostatic dissipating material.
 13. Amodular box system, comprising:a base box constructed in one piece ofmolded synthetic resin, having a bottom, opposed sides sloping upwardlyand outwardly from said bottom, opposed ends sloping upwardly andoutwardly from said bottom, and said ends respectively connected at sideedges to corresponding side edges of said sides to form an open top box.[.that may be nested within like open topped boxes.].; said sides andends of said base box having vertically extending substantially evenlyspaced slots opening inwardly of the box, generally throughout theperiphery of the interior of said base box, for substantially the fullheight of said walls for receiving therein partitions for partitioningthe interior of said base box; two substantially identical partitionplates having opposite vertically extending edges for engaging inopposed slots of said base box, and having a plurality of verticallyextending slots parallel to each other and facing outwardlyperpendicular to the slots receiving therein said edges, with saidpartition slots being more closely spaced than the slots of said basebox, so that two partition plates placed parallel to each other withinsaid box base will have opposed aligned spaced apart slots; a pluralityof board holders being of generally planar construction with opposedvertical edges for reception within opposed vertical slots of saidpartition plates and having a plurality of closely spaced verticallyextending slots along its entire extent between said edges on at leastone side; said board holders have closely spaced vertical slotsextending along its opposite sides; and said opposed edges of said boardholders being horizontally offset in a direction perpendicular to theplanar extent of said board holder an amount such that said board holdermay be vertically removed, rotated about a vertical axis 180° andvertically reassembled in the same vertical opposed slots of saidpartition plates to incrementally move the parallel slots of the boardholder from its previous position a substantial amount that is less thanthe spacing between adjacent slots of said partition plates.
 14. Amodular box according to claim 13, wherein said substantial amount isequal to one half the spacing between adjacent slots in said partition.[.later.]. .Iadd.plates.Iaddend..
 15. A modular box according to claim14, wherein said synthetic resin is an electrostatic dissipatingmaterial.
 16. A modular box system, comprising:a base box constructed in.[.on.]. .Iadd.one .Iaddend.piece of molded synthetic resin, having abottom, opposed sides sloping upwardly and outwardly from said bottom,opposed ends sloping upwardly and outwardly from said bottom, and saidends respectively connected at side edges to corresponding side edges ofsaid sides to form an open top box .[.that may be nested within likeopen topped boxes.].; a molded synthetic resin ring, separate from saidbase box, having opposed side walls and opposed end walls connected attheir side edges to corresponding side edges of said side walls to be ofa size and shape so that when placed in alignment on top of said basebox, the ring side walls and end walls will form substantially coplanarextensions of the corresponding base box sides and ends; interlockingelements respectively on the lower edge of said ring .[.in.]. .Iadd.and.Iaddend.the upper edge of said base box for interconnecting said ringand base box securely; and a plurality of said base boxes differingsubstantially only in height, and the difference in height between baseboxes being substantially different than the effective height of saidrings in extending said base boxes whereby a single size ring may extendeach size of the base boxes to an assembled size different from the sizeof any of the other boxes.
 17. A modular box according to claim 16,wherein said base boxes differ in size sufficiently so that two ringssecurely assembled on any box base will extend it to a size differentfrom the size of any other box base.
 18. A modular box according toclaim 17, including a plurality of like rings, differing from each othersubstantially only in height to extend said base boxes correspondinglydifferent amounts.
 19. A modular box according to claim 16, including aplurality of like rings, differing from each other substantially only inheight to extend said base boxes correspondingly different amounts. 20.A modular box according to claim 19, wherein said interlocking elementson one of said base box and ring, comprise opposed pairs of hooks spacedapart from each other in a direction perpendicular to their wall adistance sufficient to receive therebetween the interlocking elements ofthe other of said base box and ring;said hooks have a cantileveredresilient flange extending toward the other of said base box and ringwith a return hook portion on its terminal end; the other of said basebox and ring having slots formed by slot walls, for receivingtherethrough said cantilevered resilient flanges, said slots beingspaced apart a distance less than the distance between said hookportions, and said hook portions having cam means to engage said slotsas said hook portions move through said slots to resiliently bend saidcantilevered flanges to force said hook portions in alignment with saidslots to pass through said slots so that said hook portions may snapback behind said slot walls; for each pair of opposed hooks and pair ofslots, said hooks and slots being offset from each other in a horizontaldirection within the plane of the respective wall sufficiently so thatthe slots of each opposed pair do not overlap each other; said ringfurther having interlocking elements substantially identical to theinterlocking elements of said base box, in vertical alignment with thecorresponding interlocking elements of said box, so that a second likering may be placed upon and securely fastened to the upper periphery ofsaid first mentioned ring to further extend said base box; said sidesand ends of said base box having vertically extending substantiallyevenly spaced slots opening inwardly of the box, generally throughoutthe periphery of the interior of said base box, for substantially thefull height of said walls for receiving therein partitions forpartitioning the interior of said base box; said ring having verticallyextending substantially evenly spaced slots opening inwardly andgenerally throughout the periphery of the interior of said base box forsubstantially the full height of said walls for receiving thereinpartitions for partitioning the interior of said base box and so thatthe slots of said base box are vertically aligned with the slots of saidring when assembled; two substantially identical partition plates havingopposite vertically extending edges for engaging in opposed slots ofsaid base box, and having a plurality of vertically extending slotsparallel to each other and facing outwardly perpendicular to the slotsreceiving therein said edges, with said partition slots being moreclosely spaced than the slots of said base box, so that two partitionplates placed parallel to each other within said box base will haveopposed aligned spaced apart slots; a plurality of board holders beingof generally planar construction with opposed vertical edges forreception within opposed vertical slots of said partition plates andhaving a plurality of closely spaced vertically extending slots alongits entire extent between said edges on at least one side; said boardholders have closely spaced vertical slots extending along its oppositesides; said opposed edges of said board holders being horizontallyoffset in a direction perpendicular to the planar extent of said boardholder an amount such that said board holder may be vertically removed,rotated about a vertical axis 180° and vertically reassembled in thesame vertical opposed slots of said partition plates to incrementallymove the parallel slots of the board holder from its previous position asubstantial amount that is less than the spacing between adjacent slotsof said partition plates; said substantial amount is equal to one halfthe spacing between adjacent slots in said partition .[.later.]..Iadd.plates.Iaddend.; and said synthetic resin is an electrostaticdissipating material.